This month Dale and I took 2 weeks to
visit Colombia’s Caribbean coast. Our
plane touched down in Santa Marta and immediately after getting off the plane
it was very apparent that we were not in Medellin anymore. Our very rural and rundown tour of the
scorching suburbs of Santa Marta left us wondering what this trip would have in
store for us. Although our Spanish has
improved ten fold since we arrived it was impossible to understand anything
that spilled out of the taxi driver’s slurred speech. As proved common throughout our trip I really
think they speak a completely different language on the coast. But we pulled up to a nice city street and
parked at La Brisa Loca, the hostel that we had planed to stay at. We didn’t have much time to enjoy the hostel
and the city as we were scheduled to climb the Sierra Nevada mountain to Ciudad
Perdida (The Lost City) bright and early the next morning.
DAY ONE:
The morning of our adventure we awoke
in a panic to see our door wide open with the lock broken. We frantically searched for our wallet and
were at a loss to find it. Certain that
we had been robbed we went into panic mode rearranging our plans, canceling our
trip and after we had thoroughly worked ourselves into a great panic attack we
ran across an employee who had found the wallet. We came to realize that we had not been
robbed but instead the break in was conducted by a dog who decided to curl up
under our bed for the night. With only
20 minutes left of the morning we quickly prepared for our trek and ran out the
door to catch the jeep that was to take us to the highest point of vehicle
travel. With such a close call of
cancelation we were relieved and ready to take on whatever the hike could throw
at us; little did we know what that actually meant. After about one hour on the jeep we pulled
into a little restaurant and were joined by the other crazy hikers that signed
up for the journey. We began to get to
know our fellow travelers over lunch excitedly awaiting the beginning of our
adventure together. The first day’s trek
was to be 4 hours and supposedly the most difficult; after completely the
entire trek I can confidently say that everyday was the most difficult. The beginning was very lovely and it was nice
to see many other hikers passing by us on their return from their own
adventures. But the joy and excitement
quickly melted away by the brutal midday sun. Just when I thought I could not make it
another step in the heat the sun vanished and was replaced by rain clouds. Immediately ecstatic for the cooling weather
I did not think of the repercussions until it began pouring on us. We all found shelter under a tin roofed
tienda to wait out the thunderstorm; no not the safest idea but options were
limited. Happy to be cooled off and
rested I was ready to continue ignorant to what the rain had actually done to
our trail. For the remainder of the trek
it was like walking up clay. You would
take one step forward then slide two steps back all the way up, that is if you
were lucky enough to not fall. Everyone
was slipping and sliding the whole way then our guide was nice enough to make
us aware of the 5 people that died on the tour due to mudslides, gee thanks. Luckily everyone slipped into our first
campsite before sundown exhausted, soaked, and covered in mud.
The beginning of our hike up the mountain.
The jeep ride to our drop off point
Our first campsite
Happy right before the rain comes down.
DAY TWO:
Half of our group woke up at 4:30am to
leave for their 4 day hike whereas the rest of us got to sleep in until
8am. We awoke disappointed that none of
our clothes had dried throughout the night and reluctantly slid into our soaked
clothes and squishy shoes. Two parrots decided that our fruit looked tasty enough
to interrupt our breakfast. They swooped
in and landed on the table sitting next to us like he belonged there. We had a
3 hour hike planned for the day and we arrived at the next camp after a hearty
but short day’s hike. It was fairly easy
and every time it seemed like it was getting to be too much we would find the
group sitting, resting and getting a snack of oranges or watermelon. We had a lot of time at the camp to relax and
enjoy the scenery. The little site was
run by a Kogi family, Kogi is the indigenous tribe that lives in the Sierra
Nevada as well as throughout the coast. We also had plenty of time to swim in
the nearby stream, to play with some of the Kogi children and to lie around
reading and napping.
Our breakfast companions.
A fruit break
Dale's friend at the campsite.
Day two's campsite
DAY THREE:
We were well rested and ready to begin our day at 6am.
Everyone was under the assumption that we would reach Ciudad Perdida that day
however after another 4 hour trek we stopped at another campsite. This was, by far, the most beautiful and
wonderful of all the hikes; hearing the clicking of toucans and parrots,
passing by magnificent waterfalls, walking along a cliffs edge, running over
streams of ants and hearing the bugs harmonizing with the birds. There were even stretches of times when I
could not see anyone ahead of me or behind me and being completely alone
surrounded by the beauty of the life that grows in the jungle was aweing. We again arrived at camp with plenty of time
to rest although we did not need it as much as the previous day. We swam in the stream and sunbathed on the
rocks until the sun went down. We passed
the time in the evening by playing cards and swapping travel stories with the
other hikers. That night I went to the
bunks for the night and as I passed through the door frame a giant spider, at
least 6 inches with long spindly legs, jumps down and lands on to the top of my
head. I manically brush it off in a
panic as Dale and I start yelling for the help of our comrades to kill it! Needless to say neither of us slept well that
night and after crawling into my chosen bunk I found a few smaller spiders in
the mattress along with all sorts of awful smells and creepy crawlies.
A Kogi village that we passed by.
DAY FOUR:
Although it was a rough nights sleep we were excited to
finally reach our final destination, Ciudad Perdida (The Lost City). It was only an hour hike up to the city and
we did not have to carry our packs, as we would return to the camp for
lunch. We crossed a waist high river and
walked over an American made bridge; I suppose our government decided to contribute
a safe crossing over a river that we would have otherwise had to swing across
in a rusty shaft (God bless America). We quickly reached the steps that would
lead us to the ancient city. We were so
close but the steps were endless and they were not made for any average
American foot but finally we did make it to the top of the 1,200 steps. The city was spectacular it was founded in
800AD and was only discovered in 1972.
It was a huge site, which was thought to have housed 2,000-8,000 people. After spending 3hours walking around the city
we began our descent. I thought walking
up the steps was hard but walking down them took more grace and coordination
then I obtain. I held onto Dale for dear
life as I slid down the moss-covered rocks posing as stairs only thinking about
the possibility of adding another death to the tour guides tally. Only pure luck allowed for a safe return back
to stable ground. On our return to the camp
we found our lunch already ready and prepared for us. Immediately after eating we set off again for
another 6 hours of hiking. Already exhausted
and stressed from the day’s activities the hike was anything but the relaxing
journey that I enjoyed the day before.
Going down at a straight vertical proved to be much more challenging
then going up. Without any of our
enjoyable little fruit breaks my knees quickly began to feel like jelly and I
struggled with much of the walk. With the tough terrain I slipped on some wet
rocks a couple times leaving me with a notable bruise as well as many scrapes
and cuts. There were many times where I
mentally did not think I could continue but your body goes into some sort of
shock where it stops listening to what you think you can do and it just works
the way you want it to. It was quite a
challenge and it felt like such a relief to make it to camp. After a day like that everything taste and
feels better and it was the best dinner that I have ever eaten and the sleep
was the best that I have ever had.
The American made bridge.
Waist high river crossing
Endless stairs
Our tour guide
Ciudad Perdida
DAY FIVE
We awoke early for another long 7 hour hike. It was our last day and knowing that a cold
beer and a bed with an air conditioner was at the bottom of the mountain
waiting for us was just the kind of encouragement needed to slide into our
soaking clothes and squishy shoes one last time. The heat of the day boar down onto us as soon
as we left the tree covered campsite. Soaked
with new sweat as well as all the sweat that had built up over the past 5 days
we trudged down the mountain. Again we did
not enjoy any much-needed breaks we just continued down moving on the hopes and
dreams of what would lie at the bottom of the mountain. After endless slopping mountains we passed
through the small and familiar town in which we started our journey. We sat with our comrades and enjoyed an
ice-cold beer. It was quite an adventure
with all kinds of highs and lows but as I sit comfortably back home reminiscing
on the trip I am very happy that I took that journey. I am also very happy to be home.
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